Automotive and industrial paint are typically baked at temperatures between 200 and 400° F. in ovens positioned at the end of paint application booths in production painting facilities. These ovens typically include an oven housing that encloses heating apparatus for applying either radiant or convection heating as is known to those of skill in the art.
Preferably, these ovens are constructed from modules that are manufactured at a fabricating facility and transferred to the production paint facility. The modules are then affixed together to form the oven housing through which a conveyor transfers the products that have been painted. A typical module includes side walls, a roof and a floor, and has a length of between about 20 and 40 feet. Thermal insulation is sandwiched between inner and outer panels to prevent heat from escaping from the housing while in operation. Present designs include significant structural components that have proven to unnecessarily add cost to the construction of the oven. Structural members are welded to wall panels in both vertical and horizontal directions prior to applying the outer panels. These structural members, which are fashioned from heavy gauge steel, add a significant amount of material costs to the oven, which has proven unnecessary, particularly in light of increasing steel costs.
A typical automotive paint oven is known to be up to several hundred feet long. Thus, unnecessary structural components included in each module will add cost to the oven several times over. Therefore, a simple construction that reduces unnecessary structural components would be desirable to reduce the overall material usage and cost of the oven.